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SISSONVILLE, W.Va. -- At least five homes went up in flames today and a badly burned section of
Interstate 77 in West Virginia was closed after a natural gas line exploded in an hour-long
inferno.

No injuries were immediately reported, but firefighters had just begun to reach damaged
structures late in the afternoon after the intense flames kept them at bay for several hours.

Several people were treated for smoke inhalation, and a shelter was set up at Sissonville
High School, where Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin planned a late-afternoon press conference

State Police spokesman Sgt. Michael Baylous said a slight risk of a secondary explosion
remained, but people were told to stay inside their homes rather than evacuate. The explosion
occurred near Sissonville just before 1 p.m. in a 20-inch transmission line owned by NiSource Inc.,
parent of Columbia Gas.

The gas flow was shut off, but 1st Sgt. James Lee said there was still pressure on the
transmission line.

"The gas company is doing a check on it now," he said.

Kent Carper, president of the Kanawha County Commission, said flames had been shooting 50 to
75 feet into the air before the fire was extinguished.

"It sounded like a Boeing 757. Just a roar," he said. "It was huge. You just couldn't hear
anything. It was like a space flight."

Trevor Goins lives about a half-mile from the explosion and was watching television in his
apartment when he saw a ripple in his coffee cup and the floor shook.

"I thought possibly (it was) a plane crash," said Goins, who immediately went outside with
several neighbors. "It was so loud it sounded like a turbine engine. You almost had to put your
hands over your ears."

He got in his car and drove closer, seeing fire that stretched as high as the hilltops.

"The flames were so high, they were so massive," he said. "I could only imagine what had
happened"

Carper said the flames spanned about a quarter of a mile and ran through a culvert under the
interstate.

"It actually cooked the interstate," he said. "It looks like a tar pit."

The interstate will be shut down for two days while engineers and inspectors repair the
damage and assess whether a bridge was compromised, said State Police Sgt. Chris Zerkle. Route 21
will also be closed until further notice, he said.

Zerkle said a State Police helicopter team was going up to ascertain the extent of the damage
while a command center was being set up nearby.

Mike Banas, communications manager for NiSource, said the company was still gathering facts.

"Our first priority is the safety of our employees and the community," he said, adding that
no impacts on customers are anticipated.

Sissonville Fire Chief Tim Gooch said a nursing home is less than a mile from the site of the
blast, but the patients are safe. Paramedics were sent to check on them as a precaution.